As soon as the Decepticon ships and fighters entered Earth, Nemesis Prime immediately ordered them to seal off New York's skies.
Now, American fighter jets could hardly get close to the city. Relying on ground troops alone made defeating the Decepticons nearly impossible, and the situation for the U.S. became increasingly dire.
Out of options, they had no choice but to seek external help. The first person that came to mind was William, who had already fought the Decepticons once in Egypt.
But when they tried to call him, not only was his phone unreachable, even the British government claimed they couldn't locate him. All they knew was that a few hours earlier, he had taken an old, decommissioned submarine from the Thames and sailed into the sea.
Even though the submarine's voyage on the Thames had already been leaked to the media, the Americans didn't buy the story. To them, it was clear the British were deliberately withholding help, letting the U.S. and the Decepticons fight to mutual destruction.
Sunday did report the Americans' situation to William immediately, but just as the Americans suspected, William did intend to watch them clash with the Decepticons until both sides were badly wounded.
Besides, the U.S. had its own wizarding associations and hidden superheroes. There was no need for him to step in so early.
More importantly, there was a bigger threat than Nemesis Prime—the creator of the Transformers.
During the lull while the Decepticons' vanguard ships were still entering Earth, William's cloaked ship—carrying Optimus Prime and his team—slipped in reverse through the space bridge and arrived on Cybertron, initiating the first step in reclaiming their home world.
Deep beneath the Atlantic Ocean, it took William only a few seconds to sense the arrival of his ship.
To his surprise, Cybertron was indeed located in the Centauri system, just four light-years from Earth, and seemingly not far from the home world of the Ravager Yondu.
Thinking of Yondu, William pulled the Yaka Arrow from his storage space and began practicing its use inside the submarine, following Yondu's instructions.
Fortunately, his mental control was strong. If the arrow ever lost control, he could freeze it mid-air or, in the worst case, instantly summon it back into storage.
Still, the elder Transformer attending him was so terrified he didn't dare move an inch, worried he might be impaled at any second.
Thankfully, their submarine soon reached its destination—a colossal, ring-shaped Transformer ship spanning several kilometers.
Once docked inside the hangar, the elder Transformer immediately refused to go any farther. "Apologies, Lord Devonshire. There are twelve Guardian Knights within this ship—ancient elders from the earliest era. I dare not disturb them."
William didn't mind. "You can return. Once this is done, I'll make my own way back to London."
Having witnessed William's many astonishing feats, the elder hurriedly nodded. "Very well, Lord Devonshire. We'll take our leave."
As he watched the submarine depart, William floated in mid-air, whistling. He looked down at his formal attire and, after a moment's thought, summoned an icy-blue Frost armor set, which materialized around him.
Extending his spiritual senses outward, he scanned the entire ship and quickly located the twelve statues—each more than ten meters tall.
In a blink, he teleported into the massive chamber where the statues stood.
Flying to the center of the room, he let his spiritual energy seep into the metal beneath his feet, curious about the mechanism that supposedly only a descendant could unlock.
Even if he couldn't use it now, perhaps his descendants might someday find it useful.
He released a swarm of mechanical spiders to explore beneath the floor. But just as they finished scanning, something triggered an alarm.
All twelve massive Guardian Knights opened their eyes. "Intruder—death!"
Two of them awoke first—one wielding a massive sword, the other an enormous battle axe—and immediately lunged toward the floating William.
Unfortunately for them, they were painfully slow. Even without his Sentinel Armor, William's raw mental power allowed him to fly over a hundred meters per second.
So despite the knights unleashing every attack they had, they couldn't even graze the hem of his clothes.
Disappointed, William quickly gave up on the idea of recruiting them. They didn't even use energy weapons; their practical value was far less than he had imagined.
Still, they might come in handy as disposable forces against the Decepticons in New York—a good case of waste not, want not.
Taking a deep breath, he exhaled a wave of freezing air that instantly enveloped the Guardian Knights, locking them in solid ice within seconds.
Then he blew directly onto the metal floor, using the frost energy from his armor to freeze it until it turned brittle.
Taking out the Frost Hammer, he slammed it repeatedly onto the frozen floor. Crack, crack, crack!—fractures spread across the metal like spiderwebs.
He then gripped the hammer tightly, calling it back into his hand. With another motion, he drew the icy energy back into the hammer, forming a pulsing blue orb of power.
Thanks to thermal expansion and contraction, the floor now shattered even more easily.
Using telekinesis, William lifted the broken metal slabs, revealing a stone coffin beneath.
With a wave of his hand, the lid rose—and inside lay the decayed body of Merlin and a staff that appeared to be nothing more than a wooden stick.
He beckoned to it, and the staff floated into his hand.
Probing it with his mind, he discovered the staff was cloaked in a layer of energy—a disguise hiding its true form as Merlin's staff.
He could forcibly dispel the magic barrier, but doing so risked damaging the internal structure or triggering a backlash.
Since he knew the seal would lift if a descendant of Merlin held it, there was no need to force it.
"Where is that woman, Vivian Wembley, now?"
"SIR, Ms. Vivian is currently at Oxford University. If you'd like to speak to her, I can place a call."
"No need. I'll go myself."
With that, William turned to the twelve frozen Guardian Knights. He used the Frost Hammer to draw away the ice that bound them.
Seeing the staff in William's hand, the knight wielding a longsword stopped the others and said solemnly, "Human, Merlin's staff is not as simple as you believe. It is not just a powerful energy conduit—it is also the source of catastrophe. If it falls into—"
"Alright, alright," William interrupted, chuckling. "Isn't this staff just the energy source Quintessa used to create the Transformers?
Since I know about her, maybe we should team up—go back to Cybertron and kill her."
Hearing this, the twelve knights hesitated.
They had once been Quintessa's guards and knew her strength well enough.
As for why they betrayed their creator—it was because Quintessa deliberately made two kinds of Transformers with opposing minds, then watched their civil war like a gladiator arena.
That was why they fled Cybertron with the energy staff and hid on Earth.
Now, faced with someone like William, who could freeze them solid with a single breath, the chances of defeating Quintessa suddenly seemed much higher.
So, the knights sheathed their weapons, placed their fists over their chests, and declared, "We are at your service, human."
______
(≧◡≦) ♡ Support me and read 20 chapters ahead – patreon.com/Mutter
• Every 100 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter on Saturday.• Every 5 reviews = 1 extra chapter on Saturday.